Chapter 987: The Second Holy Beast Festival 8
Well then. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to tell the exact same good-luck story as last year, but I decided to go a little more all-out this year. That said, I didn’t have a hand in it at all, Breakcore and Irina came up with the plan.
Let’s go back one day to the meeting at the Temple Hut.
“We reflected on the fact that it wasn’t clear how Dianne, Arthur Bonaparte and Baron Guto were involved”
“So, Smithson-dono, we’d like you to perform a little sword dance”
Yes, I said as Irina handed me a decorative sword. Though not meant for practical use, it was a piece with obvious artistic value, probably crafted in a workshop in Labyrinth Village. It seemed to be made of some kind of lightweight alloy, making it incredibly light and with its center of gravity shifted far toward the hilt; it was clear from a single swing that it was completely useless for actual swordplay. However, if I’m just swinging it around, it puts no strain on my wrist and I can twirl it around with a swish-swish sound. Of course, since it has no blade, there’s little risk of injury even if I accidentally hit myself with it. If I hit myself hard enough, I might get a bruise, but that’s something that can easily be treated with either the spirit spring or standard healing light magic. Well, in short, it’s just a sword meant for twirling around.
“……You want me to do a sword dance?”
“That’s what I’m saying”
“I’m not bragging, but I really have absolutely no talent for swords. It’s even hard for me to swing one coolly”
Ever since I got beaten to a pulp by that guy Keel during my baron’s lessons as a kid and was made painfully aware of my lack of talent, I’ve had absolutely no desire to pick up a sword. Originally, I was already on a predetermined path to become a striker, not a swordsman. That experience only strengthened my resolve to focus on that path. So, when I was drafted, I did learn a little bit about handling a sword (the Trot Army doesn’t have a crossbow unit, of course), but even then, I just swung it up and down enough to blend in with everyone else. Of course, the people who drafted us probably didn’t expect us teenage soldiers to be any real combat force anyway. The training period was short, too. If anything, I think the main focus of the training was on the basics, like 「Keeping the group calm and moving in unison」. Given that, I don’t think I could pull off even a simple dance move looking cool.
“But Andy. I heard you performed a heroic feat by quickly carving a pattern into my flesh with a sword, didn’t you?”
“……A, Ah……”
Now that you mention it, I did do something like that. Yes.
“If you can do that, I don’t think striking a pose with a light sword should be that difficult”
“…………”
Well……. To begin with, I was only able to do that because I completely disregarded how it looked. I seriously doubt those movements looked cool to an outside observer. If anything, they were probably kind of creepy. It was like scribbling letters with a giant paintbrush.
“Wait, are we actually going to recreate that scene……?”
“No, we won’t be doing it exactly as it was. I want the elves to act out the exploits of Dianne, Bonaparte and the others, incorporating illusions recreating the holy beasts of that era, while you, as the central figure, wield your sword and play the role of guiding them”
“……This smells like fabrication again”
“At least call it an exaggeration. No, from our perspective, we’d prefer you call it staging”
“But I was pretty much just cheering from the back and occasionally drawing runes!?”
“However, without your words, the subjugation of the holy beasts would still have been left unresolved and neglected”
“……No, I’d really like the elves to reflect on that a bit, wouldn’t you agree!? I’d at least like them to admit that even if I hadn’t said anything, they would’ve conquered it sooner or later!”
“I can say with certainty that wouldn’t have happened. Even Diel, one of the forest’s strongest swordsmen, was completely helpless. How could anyone have handled it? It was a feat made possible only because you were there to give orders to Dianne, Lord Bonaparte and Laila-dono”
……So the Northern Forest is short on combat power, huh. Well, even now that I think about it, having the War God Dianne, the Dragon Laila and the Great Sword Saint Bonaparte all gathered there at once, that’s pretty amazing……I have to admit.
“You still don’t really realize how special what you did was, do you? That’s typical of you, but if you don’t properly acknowledge that, you’re going to have trouble getting along with the elves in the future”
Breakcore gave a wry smile.
“Even though I’m a horse on the inside, I don’t consider myself a fool. If a benefactor had no substance, I wouldn’t feel all that grateful”
“……Ah, yeah”
Is it just my imagination or did I really not do much of anything……?
“Trying to explain that in detail would be a hassle, so I’m keeping things simple by having you wield the sword”
“……So, if people take this at face value, will future generations end up thinking I was a secret master swordsman……!?”
“Only the future knows what the future holds. I can’t say it’s impossible”
“No, at least let’s say you’ll correct that part. After all, you’re going to live at least a thousand years longer than me”
“Correcting it would just make things more complicated, wouldn’t it? ……You’d better leave that sort of thing to Breakcore”
After saying that with her arms crossed, Irina muttered under her breath, 「To begin with, we shouldn’t be talking about what happens after I die right now, it’s not a pleasant thought for me」 and sulked. Sorry. But if people start spreading rumors about me in a weird way and getting their hopes up in a weird way, well, that’s a problem. Just like Phaser is doing right now.
“You can tell the elves that yourself later. There are barely 10,000 elves in this forest. It’s by no means too difficult to let everyone know who you really are starting now”
“I wonder……”
“If you meet 200 people a year, you’ll be friends with everyone in 50 years”
“……Sometimes I can’t keep up with the scale of Breakcore”
“? Well, I thought I was adjusting it to the scale of your life?”
Well, as a human, you wouldn’t exactly come up with a lifetime friendship plan like that off the top of your head. ……Now that you mention it, that’s certainly true. But when you say 200 people, I just end up thinking, well, that seems doable enough.
“Anyway, that’s the program. Don’t worry, your scene and lines have been kept plenty short. There’s no way you won’t have time to rehearse”
With Irina giving me a reassuring thumbs-up, well, I really couldn’t ask for anything more on that front.
———————————-
And so, the performance. While it was understandable that the Baron and Lord Bonaparte were being cast as actors, I wondered if they’d ask Dianne to play her own role, but it turned out an elf girl was going to play that part as well. Just like the visuals of the holy beast transformed into a giant mass of flesh, the actors also make partial use of illusions to make things look authentic, it’s a play that makes full use of magic. When I swing my sword as rehearsed, a sort of glittering glow dances from the blade, and when I thrust it toward the sky, the light converges and pours down upon me. Along with that, I’d deliver some lines in Elvish. As usual, to make sure I didn’t mess up, Irina was whispering the lines to me from behind using an illusion. Then, in sync with that, Dianne, the Baron and Lord Bonaparte would smoothly kneel down, the illusory mass of flesh would fade away and the fallen Diel, who, for some reason, was the only one played by himself, would be rescued. ……Well, I sort of get the plot, but was it really like this? I wondered, is it really okay for me to play a role like this? But when Breakcore herself saw it, she clapped her hands with satisfaction, and since the people directly involved, Dianne, Hilda-san, Aurora and others, continued with wry smiles, the elves completely bought into it and gave a thunderous standing ovation. This opening ceremony was also incredibly lively and was deemed a huge success……. ……I have a strong feeling that the misunderstanding is definitely getting deeper.